TACTILE MELODIES A SOLO EXHIBITON BY MRINAL KANTI GAYEN

Mrinal Kanti Gayen is a raconteur in bronze and his works are simple in appearance, complex in composition and lyrical in temperament. Steeped in nostalgic ruminations his sculptures vacillate between the tangible and ethereal.

The language of sculpture conventionally has been emphasizing mass and volume. Mrinal has challenged that notion and worked diligently on the possibilities of making his sculptures look more transparent and airy thus seemingly lessening the 'visual weight' of the sculptures. This trimming and pairing down of the sculptures to a lyrical style with a visible accent on the linear character enables them to strike a kinship with a painterly mode. The painterly quality in his works is only a metaphor but also a scope for the sculptor to stimulate a sense of rhythm and melody, evoking his nostalgia and memories.

Ponds, plants, trees, birds, insects, bamboo-bridges, joyful people and all kinds of natural elements form the rural life and its essence is the main theme in Mrinal's works. He transforms the mundane rustic experiences of his life in the Sunderbans into timeless art. Nature is his muse. The more closely we look into his surroundings and try to locate the dynamic form called life, it proves to be more minutely, diversely and elaborately rhythmic in nature.

His association with the natural habitat and its daily environment is not only personal but characterized by a removed sense of bliss and serenity.